After they finished their pastries, Jesse did the dishes while Lexa read
the paper. Hanging up the dishtowel on the drying rack, Jess turned to
Lexa, "Anything other big plans for the day?"
Shaking her head, Lexa stretched. "No. I'm going to do some work in the
lab for a while though. I have a few new theories I'd like to check out."
"Need any help?"
Lexa tilted her head for a moment in thought, rubbing her neck. She bent it back the other way, cracking several vertebrae in her neck. "I think I've got a handle on it."
Pensively, Jess took a step forward- "If you ever need any help, you know all you have to do is ask right? With anything."
Swallowing, Lexa nodded slightly. "I know," she said softly.
Lexa forced herself to stay in the lab for several hours. When Shalimar came in to ask her if she was hungry, Lexa waved her away and kept focused. Occasionally a string of epithets would explode from the lab that were so colorful they made Brennan blush. Jesse tried to offer help three times, but each time Lexa waived him off as well.
When Lexa finally did look up, she saw that it was 11 at night. Though she was exhausted, she knew she didn't want to go to bed. She was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to sleep, and on the off chance she did slip away, she was afraid of what she'd dream about.
Suddenly she noticed that Jesse was standing in the doorway with two piping hot mugs of chocolate.
"Is one of those for me?" Lexa asked, stretching.
Jesse flashed her a smile as he walked in, offering her a mug with the Chinese character for peace painted on the exterior. "It even has marshmallows and a shot of peppermint schnapps."
"Mmm, just how I like it. Thanks." Lexa gratefully took the mug.
"So what were you working on?" Jesse asked, standing behind her as she shut down the computer she'd been running calculations on.
"I was trying to find a formula that would reestablish stability to our oh so fragile DNA utilizing a process which paralleled the reanimation process Shal brought back with her."
"Any progress?" Jesse asked.
"Well I eliminated four techniques from our search, but that's not the kind of progress I'd like to be making." Lexa answered.
"You were in here for almost 12 hours. Aren't you tired?"
"Not tired enough," she said between sips.
"Why didn't you want my help?" Jesse asked, his voice revealing his more than passing interest.
"Sometimes people just need to do things the way they need to do them Jess. I'm not used to this team stuff. I don't like relying on people or having people rely on me."
"I thought you wanted to be a part of the team. This morning-"
"I said I didn't want to talk about it Jess." Getting up Lexa walked to the kitchen, and away from Jesse.
Not to be shaken, Jesse followed her. "Will you let me finish? This morning, when you lit the candles on the cake and you made that toast- didn't you feel like you were part of a team?"
Draining her mug, Lexa opens the fridge and takes out a bottle of rum & a can of coke. Quickly chugging a third of the soda, Lexa pours a generous two fingers worth into the can.
After throwing back her drink, Lexa turned and looked at Jesse. "I have never felt more alone here than I have today Jesse. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out."
"Where are you going?" Jesse asked, holding her by the arm as she tried to walk past him.
"That's none of your business," she said, trying to shake him.
"It is if you're thinking of taking the helix or the car and you've been drinking."
"Two drinks is not drinking Jess."
"It is on an empty stomach." With challenge in his eye, he continued on- "How do you expect to go anywhere if I don't give you the keys?"
"You little shit." Lexa jerked her arm away from his and quickly turns invisible.
"Lexa! Lexa don't do this!" Jesse yells, running to his desk to get a pair of infra red heat goggles. Flipping them on, he quickly scans the room looking for her. Not finding her he tries to use sanctuary's security system to find her, but she doesn't show up on any of the room scans, or as being in the hanger- or the garage.
Flipping the com links on, Jesse pages her, trying a direct appeal. "You can't run from whatever it is you're trying to run from Lexa. Let me help you. Whatever it is- we can figure something out together."
In response a message flashes across Jesse's computer screen. "Fuck off." Instantaneously, four doors throughout Sanctuary flip open at once. The commotion finally catches Shalimar and Brennan's attention.
"What's going on Jesse?" Brennan asks as he and Shal enter the room.
Another message from Lexa flashes on the computer screen- "Don't." Hesitating Jesse turns towards them- "Lexa and I are having a small difference of opinion."
Scanning the room, Shalimar motions for the boys to quiet down so she can try to sense something. "She's not here."
"You're sure?" Brennan asks.
"Positive. I don't hear or smell her anywhere." Shal responds.
"Two exit doors and the hanger were opened, she may be trying to leave." Jesse said, his voice again revealing his anxiousness.
"We'll go look for her." Brennan volunteered.
"Yeah, Jesse maybe you should stay here- obviously whatever's going on is between the two of you." Shal said, raising her eyebrow.
"It's not like that." Jesse said, blushing slightly.
Suddenly all the tvs and stereos through out Sanctuary start going off- as does the motion sensor by the fire escape, then the far perimeter sensor on the path beyond its' landing.
Jesse tosses the keys to the helix and the cars to Brennan. "Here- take these with you and go check sector C. If she can't take the rides, she'll be on foot, which should slow her down at least."
"Got it." Brennan says heading out.
Jesse flipped the goggles back down and started to do his own sweep of Sanctuary. He turns off each tv and stereo as he goes from room to room, till only the stereo in Lexa's room is still on. He tries the door, but it's locked so he walks thru the wall. En Vogue's "Never Going to Get It" is playing on the surround sound stereo at deafening levels, but all he can hear when he spots Lexa is his heart beating in his ears.
She's dressed to kill- and while he didn't know where she was going, he immediately knew what she was going for.
Lexa spots him in the mirror as she's putting on make up. "What?" Lexa asks, not bothering to turn and face him.
"You're not leaving Lexa." Jesse's statement had a finality that surprised her.
Turning to face him, she smirked- "You can't stop me Jess."
"I can and I will. Don't do this."
"I haven't DONE anything yet."
"Going out and having sex with some guy you don't know isn't going to fix whatever the hell it is that's bothering you this time Lexa. It's reckless, dangerous, and more than just a little stupid." Jesse bit out.
"You don't fucking know me Jesse, don't even try to pretend you have me pegged." She said, pulling on her thigh highs with motions so smooth that they took Jesse's breath away.
"I don't know you because you won't let me. Whatever it is you're looking for out there is jeopardizing what you have right here, and if you're too stupid to see that-"
"And what exactly do I have here? You and I both know damn well that what I need is something you can't give me. So stop calling me stupid you self- righteous-"
"You're the self-righteous one Lexa. Stop thinking your problems are any more difficult for you to handle than ours are. And you are stupid if you don't realize that I'm here for you Lexa."
Without thinking Lexa launched one right at Jesse's head, but he let it pass right thru him and hit the cd player, silencing it.
For the second time that night Jesse grabbed her by the arm and tried to still her. "Don't. Do. That. Again." Jesse growled.
Though Lexa tried to pull away, Jesse managed to grab her other arm as well, and held her firmly in place. He wrapped his arms around her, at first to keep her from struggling, then to comfort her after she stilled and started to melt against him.
The change was sudden, but somehow it creped up on both of them. Arms that first imprisoned her were stroking her back, then caressing her sides and then... their lips met gently at first, then with an explosion of passion. As the fell onto the bed, lexa rolled on top of him- and looked in his eyes searching them.
"This- this doesn't mean- it's just for tonight, got it? I just- I need this."
Thru the haze, part of Jess realized that this was the closest thing to a confession of weakness he'd heard from Lexa's own lips.
Helping her take her top off Jesse kissed first the underside of her breast, then took the nipple itself into his mouth.
Moaning, lexa ground herself against him, but pushed his head away. "I mean it Jesse. I don't want to jeopardize our friendship," she panted, sitting up.
He sat up, his ears ringing, and kissed her neck, then slid his fingers between her legs, causing her head to roll back and her to bite her lower lip, moaning. Leaning forward to kiss her body, Jesse gave Lexa what she wanted to hear- "I'll give you what you need. I promise."
* * * *
Brennan and Shalimar had spent 40 minutes searching first the perimeter, then the hanger, before calling it quits & heading back to Sanctuary. They would have stayed out longer, but they were concerned when Jesse didn't answer them over the coms.
When they walked in and didn't find him where they'd left him, they went to look in his room. As they neared Lexa's room, Shalimar started to grin and stopped Brennan from knocking.
"What?" Brennan asked, uncomprehendingly.
"He's in there with her." Shalimar said, raising an eyebrow.
"What, you mean like-" Brennan stopped mid-sentence when he heard the rhythmic thumping accompanied by Jesse's distinctive voice groaning.
With her feral hearing, Shalimar could even hear Lexa begging Jesse not to stop. She could even hear the vulnerability in Lexa's voice- the need for something that Lexa herself hadn't realized only Jesse would bring her.
As they walked away, Shalimar could hear the desperation and need growing in Lexa's voice- a quick glance and Brennan and she realized that he couldn't. Suddenly a flash of light and heat slammed the second couple from behind. The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.
* * *
Lying entwined together, Lexa stared up at the ceiling, her body humming, while Jesse nuzzled her neck, smiling. "I can't move," she whispered.
Lifting his head so that he can look into her vivid eyes, he laughed. "What happened to 'Don't stop' Hmm? You certainly had no problem moving when you did that thing where you..." he leaned back down to whisper in her ear.
Lexa starts to blush- now its her turn to burry her head in his shoulder.
Jesse took the opportunity to memorize every detail of her body. Tenderly he confessed-"I think you're so beautiful."
"Jesse- don't." Lexa turned from him- pulling away.
Pulling her back to him, Jesse tried another tactic. "I thought you said you couldn't move," he teased as he pinned her under him.
"You promised." Now it was Lexa's turn for her voice to betray her, her eyes searching his.
"I'm not going to hurt you Lexa, you know I could never hurt you." Jesse said, comfortingly, stroking her face. "Until we leave this room- it's still 'tonight.'" Kissing her gently, he stroked her face. "Okay?"
Nodding, Lexa wrapped her arms around him.
* * * * *
"Need any help?"
Lexa tilted her head for a moment in thought, rubbing her neck. She bent it back the other way, cracking several vertebrae in her neck. "I think I've got a handle on it."
Pensively, Jess took a step forward- "If you ever need any help, you know all you have to do is ask right? With anything."
Swallowing, Lexa nodded slightly. "I know," she said softly.
Lexa forced herself to stay in the lab for several hours. When Shalimar came in to ask her if she was hungry, Lexa waved her away and kept focused. Occasionally a string of epithets would explode from the lab that were so colorful they made Brennan blush. Jesse tried to offer help three times, but each time Lexa waived him off as well.
When Lexa finally did look up, she saw that it was 11 at night. Though she was exhausted, she knew she didn't want to go to bed. She was pretty sure she wouldn't be able to sleep, and on the off chance she did slip away, she was afraid of what she'd dream about.
Suddenly she noticed that Jesse was standing in the doorway with two piping hot mugs of chocolate.
"Is one of those for me?" Lexa asked, stretching.
Jesse flashed her a smile as he walked in, offering her a mug with the Chinese character for peace painted on the exterior. "It even has marshmallows and a shot of peppermint schnapps."
"Mmm, just how I like it. Thanks." Lexa gratefully took the mug.
"So what were you working on?" Jesse asked, standing behind her as she shut down the computer she'd been running calculations on.
"I was trying to find a formula that would reestablish stability to our oh so fragile DNA utilizing a process which paralleled the reanimation process Shal brought back with her."
"Any progress?" Jesse asked.
"Well I eliminated four techniques from our search, but that's not the kind of progress I'd like to be making." Lexa answered.
"You were in here for almost 12 hours. Aren't you tired?"
"Not tired enough," she said between sips.
"Why didn't you want my help?" Jesse asked, his voice revealing his more than passing interest.
"Sometimes people just need to do things the way they need to do them Jess. I'm not used to this team stuff. I don't like relying on people or having people rely on me."
"I thought you wanted to be a part of the team. This morning-"
"I said I didn't want to talk about it Jess." Getting up Lexa walked to the kitchen, and away from Jesse.
Not to be shaken, Jesse followed her. "Will you let me finish? This morning, when you lit the candles on the cake and you made that toast- didn't you feel like you were part of a team?"
Draining her mug, Lexa opens the fridge and takes out a bottle of rum & a can of coke. Quickly chugging a third of the soda, Lexa pours a generous two fingers worth into the can.
After throwing back her drink, Lexa turned and looked at Jesse. "I have never felt more alone here than I have today Jesse. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going out."
"Where are you going?" Jesse asked, holding her by the arm as she tried to walk past him.
"That's none of your business," she said, trying to shake him.
"It is if you're thinking of taking the helix or the car and you've been drinking."
"Two drinks is not drinking Jess."
"It is on an empty stomach." With challenge in his eye, he continued on- "How do you expect to go anywhere if I don't give you the keys?"
"You little shit." Lexa jerked her arm away from his and quickly turns invisible.
"Lexa! Lexa don't do this!" Jesse yells, running to his desk to get a pair of infra red heat goggles. Flipping them on, he quickly scans the room looking for her. Not finding her he tries to use sanctuary's security system to find her, but she doesn't show up on any of the room scans, or as being in the hanger- or the garage.
Flipping the com links on, Jesse pages her, trying a direct appeal. "You can't run from whatever it is you're trying to run from Lexa. Let me help you. Whatever it is- we can figure something out together."
In response a message flashes across Jesse's computer screen. "Fuck off." Instantaneously, four doors throughout Sanctuary flip open at once. The commotion finally catches Shalimar and Brennan's attention.
"What's going on Jesse?" Brennan asks as he and Shal enter the room.
Another message from Lexa flashes on the computer screen- "Don't." Hesitating Jesse turns towards them- "Lexa and I are having a small difference of opinion."
Scanning the room, Shalimar motions for the boys to quiet down so she can try to sense something. "She's not here."
"You're sure?" Brennan asks.
"Positive. I don't hear or smell her anywhere." Shal responds.
"Two exit doors and the hanger were opened, she may be trying to leave." Jesse said, his voice again revealing his anxiousness.
"We'll go look for her." Brennan volunteered.
"Yeah, Jesse maybe you should stay here- obviously whatever's going on is between the two of you." Shal said, raising her eyebrow.
"It's not like that." Jesse said, blushing slightly.
Suddenly all the tvs and stereos through out Sanctuary start going off- as does the motion sensor by the fire escape, then the far perimeter sensor on the path beyond its' landing.
Jesse tosses the keys to the helix and the cars to Brennan. "Here- take these with you and go check sector C. If she can't take the rides, she'll be on foot, which should slow her down at least."
"Got it." Brennan says heading out.
Jesse flipped the goggles back down and started to do his own sweep of Sanctuary. He turns off each tv and stereo as he goes from room to room, till only the stereo in Lexa's room is still on. He tries the door, but it's locked so he walks thru the wall. En Vogue's "Never Going to Get It" is playing on the surround sound stereo at deafening levels, but all he can hear when he spots Lexa is his heart beating in his ears.
She's dressed to kill- and while he didn't know where she was going, he immediately knew what she was going for.
Lexa spots him in the mirror as she's putting on make up. "What?" Lexa asks, not bothering to turn and face him.
"You're not leaving Lexa." Jesse's statement had a finality that surprised her.
Turning to face him, she smirked- "You can't stop me Jess."
"I can and I will. Don't do this."
"I haven't DONE anything yet."
"Going out and having sex with some guy you don't know isn't going to fix whatever the hell it is that's bothering you this time Lexa. It's reckless, dangerous, and more than just a little stupid." Jesse bit out.
"You don't fucking know me Jesse, don't even try to pretend you have me pegged." She said, pulling on her thigh highs with motions so smooth that they took Jesse's breath away.
"I don't know you because you won't let me. Whatever it is you're looking for out there is jeopardizing what you have right here, and if you're too stupid to see that-"
"And what exactly do I have here? You and I both know damn well that what I need is something you can't give me. So stop calling me stupid you self- righteous-"
"You're the self-righteous one Lexa. Stop thinking your problems are any more difficult for you to handle than ours are. And you are stupid if you don't realize that I'm here for you Lexa."
Without thinking Lexa launched one right at Jesse's head, but he let it pass right thru him and hit the cd player, silencing it.
For the second time that night Jesse grabbed her by the arm and tried to still her. "Don't. Do. That. Again." Jesse growled.
Though Lexa tried to pull away, Jesse managed to grab her other arm as well, and held her firmly in place. He wrapped his arms around her, at first to keep her from struggling, then to comfort her after she stilled and started to melt against him.
The change was sudden, but somehow it creped up on both of them. Arms that first imprisoned her were stroking her back, then caressing her sides and then... their lips met gently at first, then with an explosion of passion. As the fell onto the bed, lexa rolled on top of him- and looked in his eyes searching them.
"This- this doesn't mean- it's just for tonight, got it? I just- I need this."
Thru the haze, part of Jess realized that this was the closest thing to a confession of weakness he'd heard from Lexa's own lips.
Helping her take her top off Jesse kissed first the underside of her breast, then took the nipple itself into his mouth.
Moaning, lexa ground herself against him, but pushed his head away. "I mean it Jesse. I don't want to jeopardize our friendship," she panted, sitting up.
He sat up, his ears ringing, and kissed her neck, then slid his fingers between her legs, causing her head to roll back and her to bite her lower lip, moaning. Leaning forward to kiss her body, Jesse gave Lexa what she wanted to hear- "I'll give you what you need. I promise."
* * * *
Brennan and Shalimar had spent 40 minutes searching first the perimeter, then the hanger, before calling it quits & heading back to Sanctuary. They would have stayed out longer, but they were concerned when Jesse didn't answer them over the coms.
When they walked in and didn't find him where they'd left him, they went to look in his room. As they neared Lexa's room, Shalimar started to grin and stopped Brennan from knocking.
"What?" Brennan asked, uncomprehendingly.
"He's in there with her." Shalimar said, raising an eyebrow.
"What, you mean like-" Brennan stopped mid-sentence when he heard the rhythmic thumping accompanied by Jesse's distinctive voice groaning.
With her feral hearing, Shalimar could even hear Lexa begging Jesse not to stop. She could even hear the vulnerability in Lexa's voice- the need for something that Lexa herself hadn't realized only Jesse would bring her.
As they walked away, Shalimar could hear the desperation and need growing in Lexa's voice- a quick glance and Brennan and she realized that he couldn't. Suddenly a flash of light and heat slammed the second couple from behind. The two looked at each other and burst out laughing.
* * *
Lying entwined together, Lexa stared up at the ceiling, her body humming, while Jesse nuzzled her neck, smiling. "I can't move," she whispered.
Lifting his head so that he can look into her vivid eyes, he laughed. "What happened to 'Don't stop' Hmm? You certainly had no problem moving when you did that thing where you..." he leaned back down to whisper in her ear.
Lexa starts to blush- now its her turn to burry her head in his shoulder.
Jesse took the opportunity to memorize every detail of her body. Tenderly he confessed-"I think you're so beautiful."
"Jesse- don't." Lexa turned from him- pulling away.
Pulling her back to him, Jesse tried another tactic. "I thought you said you couldn't move," he teased as he pinned her under him.
"You promised." Now it was Lexa's turn for her voice to betray her, her eyes searching his.
"I'm not going to hurt you Lexa, you know I could never hurt you." Jesse said, comfortingly, stroking her face. "Until we leave this room- it's still 'tonight.'" Kissing her gently, he stroked her face. "Okay?"
Nodding, Lexa wrapped her arms around him.
* * * * *